The Lord's Prayer (7)

Pastor Mark Hogan teaches on Matthew 6:13, explaining that temptation is an incitement to sin arising from Satan, our sinful flesh, and the world, not from God (James 1:13; Galatians 6:1). The petition does not ask never to encounter temptation—Jesus himself was led into the wilderness and warned his disciples to "watch and pray" in Gethsemane (Matthew 4; Matthew 26:41)—but asks God to preserve and strengthen believers so they are not overcome by and do not give in to temptation. Christians should continually pray this sixth petition, confess their weakness, rely on God's power rather than self-resolution, and seek deliverance from Satan's present attacks while hoping and waiting for the final destruction of evil. Hogan interprets "deliver us from the evil one" as chiefly concerning Satan and his domain, while the closing, "For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever" (Matthew 6:13), affirms God's sovereign rule, ability, and eternal glory. The prayer's "Amen" is thus an expression of confidence that the Father hears and answers his children's petitions.